Chapter 52 - Extermination of the Upper Echelons

Holding the arrow in his hand, Han Sen released Qin Xuan's waist, who was still confused about what was happening. But as a smart person, she understood everything after seeing Son of Heaven and the bow in his hand. And also the consequences of it.

"Return to the protection. Fist Guy, you too." Han Sen continued to look at Son of Heaven, his attention undistracted at any moment. Everyone could feel a kind of terrifying aura and intensity in his voice, making it undeniable to not obey.

"But-" Qin Xuan immediately understood that look on his face. A look that caused fear even in her, but more than that, worry came. She understood that Han Sen was willing to go to war now, and only one side would survive.

"It's not a request." Releasing her, Han Sen squeezed the hand that held the arrow and it snapped in half. Qin Xuan was also wise, choosing to return with Fist Guy to the siege protected by Bastet.

Break!

"What a pity, a valuable mutant arrow... a price to pay, unfortunately." Son of Heaven continued with his arrogant smile. He didn't even seem to care about being involved in something so significant.

"I think I have to respect you now. I really have to, Son of Heaven." Han Sen was being very sincere at that moment and continued, "When I don't like someone, the only way to make me feel respect for them is if they prove their bravery to me, or their madness.”

Coming down from the dead lizard above, he began to walk towards the Son of Heaven. Out of the hundred people he brought, there were some archers who were aiming their bows and arrows at Han Sen, but he didn't care.

"And I admire your madness. After all, what else could be called of someone who decided to go to war with the Alliance while trying to execute the chief of the military? What else could be called of someone who used individual forces to try to exterminate the leaders of the three largest groups in Steel Armor Shelter?" Stopping at a good spot, he looked up, facing the self-proclaimed madman.

"It depends a lot on how you see it. Didn't you advertise this hunt so much? Wouldn't it be very tragic if all of you died? And then I took control?" With a smile, he found himself very clever in this analysis. He completely disregarded the level of strength of the person he wanted to kill.

"I think when you lost your leg, they had to shove it so deep inside you that it ended up damaging your brain. That's the only explanation for this." Han Sen felt the anger that had been building up escape through his smile. He couldn't believe he could feel so much rage towards someone with such an inferior intellect.

Perhaps it was because of the attempted assassination against Qin Xuan? Perhaps it was a direct attack on his inflated ego as a cultivator, where any challenge was either death or nothing? He couldn't say for sure. Not that he couldn't, but he didn't want to find an answer to his anger. He just wanted to erase it, as quickly as possible.

"Despite your words, I can give you a chance if you hand over the Beast Soul-" Son of Heaven still carried his magnificent demeanor, unaware that he was provoking a beast to attack the alluring prey. And he succeeded in this attempt.

BANG! SWOOSH!

Disappearing from the ground suddenly, people could only see that two imposing wings appeared on Han Sen's back before he appeared in front of Son of Heaven, who was still focused on his speech. The impact force of his takeoff was so strong that the ground around where he was completely cracked.

"I'm tired of you." Han Sen only spoke these words before his spear disappeared amidst several attacks.

With four slashes, the four members of the Son of Heaven were cut off, and his face was still in the middle of the process of turning from boastfulness to absolute terror. With a final stab, the spear pierced his heart and Han Sen only looked deep into his eyes. He has long recognized the lack of any kind of human soul in this body.

"I really wanted to kill you, but you're too much of a coward for that. But don't worry. I'll make sure to send all your subordinates to hell." Throwing what was left of the "Son of Heaven's" body on the ground, he saw how the body seemed to be undergoing a strange process of disintegration. Before it was finished, he smiled at the dead man in front of him, "And then I'll come after you.”

Feeling disappointed with the foolish and pointless challenge, where his enemy didn't even have the courage to appear in person, Han Sen turned his gaze to his subordinates. As expected, he could sense the nervousness and hesitation in some of them.

"Blame your boss for what's about to happen now." Wiping the fake blood off the blade of his spear, Han Sen disappeared once again from where he was, his speed too fast for them to keep up.

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Wherever he went, Han Sen would appear like a reaper, cutting off the limbs and necks of the assassins who knew exactly what they were about to do. He had no remorse in taking their lives, precisely because they wouldn't hesitate to take the lives of 250 people for the whims of a tyrannical leader.

"Baldy, behind you!" A member of the higher echelons of Son of Heaven’s group, named Knife, warned his colleague, but it was already too late.

He saw when a death angel suddenly appeared behind Baldy, his face covered by armor and all he could see were the amber eyes that contained fierceness and brutality in them. And those wings. The majestic wings covered in black armor, making them more fierce and more effective in frightening his targets.

"And you are the last one." After cutting the bald man in half, Han Sen advanced again with his wings and decapitated Knife, who had a helpless and terrified expression on his face. He had known his fate for a long time.

With his armor and spear stained with blood, Han Sen stood on top of his last victim's corpse. Feeling all the disgust that had accumulated from dirtying his hands in blood because of that person. He may not have remorse, but that doesn't mean he is crazy for killing. Especially after he understood and learned about the soul and how essence behaves, he had a little more respect for life.

"Han Sen?" The voice he least wanted to hear right now sounded not too far from him. And he didn't want to hear it not because he disliked it, but because he didn't want the owner of the voice to see him in this situation.

"You shouldn't have left there." Han Sen didn't want to make unnecessary drama. He was already too old for that. But at the same time, the thought of hiding something simply didn't make sense in his head. If she wanted to continue with him, she would have to get used to the ways of a cultivator.

"And left you alone?" Qin Xuan approached him, not caring about the amount of death around her. She was going to ask if there was anyone else left, but that didn't seem to be the case. "Are you hurt? How is your hand?"

Han Sen took off his armor helmet and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, a little curious about her indifferent attitude.

"What's wrong?" Qin Xuan looked at him strangely, but soon realized his implication. Giving him a sincere smile, she lightly tapped his head. "You must be very young and still don't know my story. I forgive you for thinking that I would be disgusted by your actions."

"You are a strange woman, you know?" Han Sen reassessed what he thought about Qin Xuan. Perhaps she really was a woman worth the effort. One that he would fight to keep by his side.

"We both are. That's why we are together." For the first time since they started sleeping together, Qin Xuan had the courage to take the initiative to admit their relationship. This was not normal for her, but she thought she needed to open up more to him, so she wouldn't always be the serious one in the relationship.

"You heard what she said, Fist Guy? It seems that someone here is really crazy in love with me." Han Sen suddenly looked up and glanced at a specific tree. Soon after, two hands rose behind the tree, as if it had surrendered.

"I admit I was surprised, but congratulations to both of you. The Shelter will be shocked when they find out about this." Stepping out from behind the tree, Fist Guy held back his laughter as he saw Qin Xuan adopt a serious expression, but her cheeks were slowly turning red with embarrassment.

"If you say a word about it, there will definitely be two massacres today." Qin Xuan instinctively had her dagger in hand, her threat sounding loud and clear.

"My mouth is a tomb." Fist Guy ran his fingers over his mouth, indicating that he would stay silent about it.

"But theirs are not." Han Sen suddenly pointed to several other trees, where several other hands were surrendering after being caught red-handed.

With her cheeks turning red like a tomato, Qin Xuan gave up trying to look serious and turned to Han Sen. Her face looked irritated and teary, but she wouldn't show it to anyone. So he decided to give her a break, as it must have been the first time everyone found out something about her personal life like this.

"Everyone, after this little interlude, let's have a big barbecue with our hunt. May the luckiest ones earn the points!"

With their leader's command, everyone started walking back to the area where they killed the Purple-Winged Dragon. They all knew that no matter how much fun they could have now, as soon as they returned, a storm would occur in the Alliance.

And it wouldn't be a small storm.

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"Huh, where the hell did that strange beast take me?" A figure suddenly emerged from some bushes, his bare and dusty torso indicating that he had been walking in the wilderness for some time and was clearly lost. He also carried a large backpack behind him, as well as a fishing rod that was tied to the backpack.

With a lean yet muscular appearance, a young man measuring 1.80 meters tall was holding a glaive over his shoulder and trying to locate himself on a map. His ice-blue eyes, in stark contrast to the crimson red of his hair, strained to make sense of this peculiar map. However, based on the distances he had traveled in pursuit of an exotic beast he had encountered, he concluded that he was completely lost.

"This is what I get for following the advice of that old idiot. Who the hell is forced to travel between shelters only after a year of accumulating strength? And I couldn't even find a nearby lake to fish or even take a bath!" Complaining a bit, the young man named Baldur was thinking about starting to run in a random direction and pray to his Gods that he could reach somewhere safe.

But as soon as he was about to start doing that, a trail of smoke spread across the sky near him, and a strange smell was circulating through the forest. Attracted by the smell and the natural lure of a campfire in the forest, Baldur wondered if his empty stomach was causing him to imagine things.

"Well, it's worth a try. Curiosity killed the cat, but I just have to prepare myself to run..." With a glaive in hand, the young man walked towards the trail of smoke, curious about what would happen.

He wanted to know if this was the result of people. Or even better, and what he hoped for, if it was an exotic beast for him to hunt!